1932

Today I am going through my files of photos and showing you some of the things I see around the city. I take photos of anything that interests me and I hope you enjoy them as well.

As well I am going to talk about some of the events that were to important to Vancouver in 1932.

By 1932 the Great Depression had settled over the country like a wet blanket. It is estimated that thousands were on relief and hundreds more were arriving by freight train daily. One reporter counted 1,250 men in the bread line at the First United Church and the city's cost for relief between 1931 and 1932 was over $1.3 million.

In January of 1932 the Hastings Mill Store opened as a museum. It had been moved from it original location on Dunlevy Street to where it now sits in Hastings Mill Park (aka Pioneer Park).

On February 28, 1932 actor, activist and musician Don Francks, (native name Iron Buffalo) was born in Vancouver.

February of 1932 was also the year that the morning newspaper, The Star, was shut down by Victor Odlum when the printers refused to take a wage cut.

The Strand Theatre, on the south side of Georgia Street at Seymour, was closed as a result of the Depression in February. It reopened in 1933.


March 31 proved that the silent film era was totally dead. On this the Beacon Theatre (the old Pantages) on Hastings Street was showing the 1915 classic Birth of a Nation.

On May 27 the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra gave its first performance.

Famed pianist Ignace Paderewski performed at the Vancouver Arena on April 13. By 1940, eight years later,  he was at the head of the Polish government in exile during the Second World War.


The Florence Nightingale of the City died at the age of 80 on April 13.  Sister Frances (Mrs. Fanny Dalrymple Redmond) was our first public health nurse and was a nurse at the St. James' Church. She earned the above mentioned nickname for her devotion and commitment to the sick during the smallpox epidemic of the 1890s.


On April 25 the Vancouver General Hospital broke all previous records in their maternity ward. Eleven babies were born that day - one Japanese child and ten white babies. Six of the children were boys and five were girls.

these tiles are placed in the sidewalk on Hastings street in the Hastings/Sunrise District.

The Vancouver Police Department inaugurated a full radio system in April of 1932.

On May 4 a large demonstration of the unemployed was held at Vancouver City Hall.

In 1912 Robert Dollar established the Canadian Robert Dollar Co. in Vancouver to run the fleet of Dollar Steamship Line of California. Timber stands bought from the BC Government supplied his sawmills and the company's flag was a white dollar sign on a red background and it was known worldwide. Known as the Pacific's Grand Old Man, Dollar died on May 16, 1932 in San Rafael, California at the age of about 88.

Spring of 1932 saw the first Bradner Flower Show that was attended huge crowds. There was a concert and dance in the evening.

The Capilano Timber Company mills were destroyed by fire in June of 1932. Started in 1917 the company was ran a logging railway up the Capilano Valley to bring out the red cedar.

On Canada Day of that year, July 1, the Burrard Street Bridge opened. I have written on it before and the bridge's history so I won't do so now.

On July 17 the CPR began running trains through a tunnel downtown. The tunnel was built to get the trains off of the city streets. With a few modifications it has been transformed to be used by the Skytrain.

I hpoe you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill,CPR, Vancouver,tunnel,Capilano Timber Company,Robert Dollar,History,Ignace Paderewski

One Hundred!

Can you believe it? This is my one hundredth entry on this blog. And I gotta tell you it has been fun so far.

(I started this on Monday night, However when I proceeded to upload photos I was informed I had run out of room and had to buy more. That took a few days.)

Before I get into writing on the blog entry I want to tell you about a contest I was asked to post information on here.




GPSmycity.com is an iPhone software developer that is focusing on self guided city walking tour apps. They running a contest to promote the products and here's what you do:

Answer the following questions in an email to quiz@gpsmycity.com. Ready? Here are the questions.

1. Vancouver has earned along its many nicknames, the name of :
A.Vanstock
B.Hong-couver
C.New Beijing

2. One of these opinions is definitely false. But the question is, which one?
A. Vancouver is probably the only place in the world where it is possible to ski, play golf and go sailing, all in the same day
B. Canada owns the North Pole
C. Canada is the world's second largest country by total area

3. Canada is believed to be the home of:
A. The Tooth-Fairy
B. Cinderella
C. Santa Claus

4. These tourists will have a hard time in Vancouver. Simply because there are bans in most places, which prohibit:
A. Dinning with your pet
B. Smoking cigars
C. Flirting with waitresses

5. Vancouverites (people who live in Vancouver) "eat out" more than any other North American city. Related or not, that makes them notorious for:
A.tipping well
B.consuming most wine glasses over a meal
C.skipping lunch

6. In the 1960's in Vancouver was founded one of the world's biggest and most active organizations:
A.Earth Liberation Front
B.Greenpeace
C.PETA

7. Vancouver is one of the few North American cities with no:
A.old people
B.street gangs
C.downtown freeways

8. A certain iconic American musician would spend summers in Vancouver, where his granny lived. Can you guess who?
A. Jimi Hendrix
B. Bob Dylan
c. Elvis Presley

9. Injecting more than $1 billion dollars into the local economy, Vancouver has the largest (in all Canada):
A. Film Industry
B. Airport
C. Fishing Industry

10. Which one of the following fine things listed below, simply cannnot be purchased from a grocery store in Canada:
A. Alcohol
B. Condoms
C. Medicine

Good luck to all those who enter.

This sign is outside the library downtown and I thought it fit in with my theme. Though I hope that most of my words do fit in with the photos I have.

The one advantage I've found with writing this blog is how much more I notice. Like walking downtown last week and I was intrigued by this building.

Okay not so much the building as the reflection of the Hotel Vancouver that is so brilliantly showcased.

Or here.

Another day I was walking along East Broadway when I walked by Vancouver Technical School, also referred to as Van Tech.

When a person first looks at this school they may see a block, a square structure. There may be nothing appealing to the casual viewer at all. But take a closer look.

A bit more personality wouldn't you say? But take the time to look a little closer.

This school originally opened in 1916 in the Fairview neighbourhood. Later it was moved to downtown. In 1928 it was moved to its present location.

Until 1940 this was an all boys school but in that year girls were admitted and the school continued to grow.

According to a 2003 article in the Globe and Mail this is "one of the most ethnically diverse schools in Canada” according to columnist Stephen Hume.

While that is all good I just enjoy finding a 'block' and discovering it is much more.

And would I have noticed if I had not have started  this blog? Probably not.

Now just for trivia purposes there are some things about this school you might want to know.

It has been featured in television shows such as 21 Jump Street, Smallville and Supernatural. It has been shown in movies like Scary Movie, She's the Man, Paycheck and Spectacular. Such notable alumni such as the rock band Trooper and former Vancouver city mayor Sam Sullivan as well as Olympic athlete Greg Joy have emerged from these hallowed halls. And two characters from the televison show Intelligence were also from this school.

If I were not blogging on the beauty of this city would I have noticed this sunflower?

Or the way the cranes form the Port Vancouver stand against the backdrop of the mountins and North Vancouver?  Maybe I would have and maybe not. I probably wouldn't have taken a photo though.

It has been a interesting few months and I hope it will continue. Thank you for reading and commenting and I hope you continue.

I hope you find the beauty around you. It is there, believe me.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, 100, Holden Hotel,Vancouver Technical School,21 Jump Street,Trooper,history,

Coming to An End

Officially the first day of fall is September 22, 2010. But this is the last long weekend of summer, Labour Day Weekend, and for many it signifies the end of the lazy days.

The long days of playing in the sun, getting into mischief and being free will end after this weekend. Then it will be back to school for children and perhaps new projects for the adults.

Labour Day was first celebrated in New York City in 1882 and became a federal holiday in the U.S. in 1894. It was formed to honor the working person and parades were held to exhibit the strength of the working class. There was also more than likely a bit of politics involved here.

In May of 1894 approximately 3000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company went on a wildcat strike to protest the reduction in wages and the layoffs of numerous employees due to tough times. The strike halted traffic west of Chicago and a massive struggle between the American Railway Union,  the country's first nation wide union, and the railway. As can sometimes happen with these sort of things events turned violent and President Grover Cleveland sent in 12,000 troops to try to restore order. By the time the dust settled 13 strikers were killed, 57 wounded and $340,000 worth of damage was done by 6,000 employees. (That would work out to over $8,000,000 in today's monies.) So Cleveland was eager to try to smooth over things with the labour parties.

The luscious green foliage and the hues of summer blossoms will soon fade - some are already - and appear to die as nature goes to sleep for the winter. But before that, before the earth's landscape loses colour we are going to be treated to nature dressing up in her finest shades for the last dance of the year.

Starting Tuesday kiddies will pour into buildings such as the one below. Excited for the first day of school, saddened that the summer is over, eager to show off the new school clothes yet chafing against the restrictive nature of them, so different from the looseness and ease of summer attire.

Those attending here have the privilege of going to an elementary school that was built in 1909 and was named after the wife of King Edward VII of England.

One of the buildings in this elementary school was built in 1910.  Lord Selkirk Elementary school was named after the Scottish philanthropist who helped poor people not only in his home land but here as well.

Then there will be those students who put on a uniform and attend St. Francis of Assisi School.

They will follow the fish through the gate of this Catholic based learning establishment and, like their counterparts at other schools, will learn and progress.

Some mourn the end of summer. Mourn the fact that the hot days are disappearing, that structure and order are back in the norm, that sandals, shorts and tshirts are put away for another year. But I don't. Every season has something to offer. The nip in the air that is coming makes a person feel alive, the inevitable rain nourishes the earth and the added clothing protects our skin from outer harm.

Not that I haven't enjoyed this summer because I have. I have rediscovered my passion for history and through this blog am able to share it with you.  I am grateful too that I have got out into the city and taken pictures of places that may soon disappear. Like the Cecil Hotel.

Yesterday I wrote about the Yale Hotel on Granville Street. The Cecil Hotel is right beside it though not for long.

The Cecil Hotel was built in 1909 and for approximately the last thirty five years has been a strip club. It is now closed and waiting to be transformed into high rise condos. So we shall say goodbye to another Vancouver landmark.

On the humourous side if I hadn't had rediscovered my passion for history I would never have read the tidbit that on October 6, 1909 Vancouver took its first mechanized ambulance out for a test drive. That didn't go so well. They ran over and killed an American tourist.

On that note I will wish you all a great weekend. I will probably be back on Monday.

I hope you find the beauty around you, no matter what the season.

TAGS:Vancouver, Karen Magill, Summer, Fall,Labour Day,Grover Cleveland,walk,history,